This invention relates generally to display supports for flags, banners and the like, and more specifically relates to a support assembly for preventing banners from wrapping around an associated supporting mast that is mounted in a non-vertical orientation.
Flags, pennants and banners, which for convenience will be referred to herein collectively, as banners, are frequently "flown" or displayed by attachment to vertical masts or flag poles. However, banners are also commonly displayed at the ends of masts and poles that are mounted at an angle part way between vertical and horizontal, because the surface patterns are more fully and clearly visible when a banner is suspended in that position. For further convenience in this specification, masts, poles and all other forms of elongate supports for banners and the like, will be referred to collectively, as staffs.
Although banners are known to be displayed more fully and effectively on staffs that are tilted from vertical toward horizontal, display of banners on such staffs is subject to a significant drawback that does not affect display on fully vertical staffs. Specifically, banners displayed in the outdoors are subject to widely variable natural wind forces that frequently result in the banner becoming wrapped or furled around the supporting staff.
In the of fully vertical support staffs, the forces of gravity naturally and inevitably cause a banner to "unwind" from around the staff when wind forces abate. On the other hand, in the case of staffs positioned at an angle between vertical and horizontal, natural "waving" or "flapping" of the attached banner often causes it to wrap around the semi-horizontal staff in response to wind forces, and to remain in that position, substantially furled, undisplayed and unattractive, when wind forces abate. When banners have become furled or wrapped around semi-horizontal staffs, they tend to remain in that position indefinitely due to the force of gravity, until they are manually unwrapped and restored to their "normal" unfurled display condition.
In the unfurled condition, banners hang freely, suspended from a single base edge attached to the staff. In the most commonly used display mounting arrangement, the base edge of the banner is engaged at its opposite ends and secured at those two points to the mounting staff, so that the base edge is extended to substantially its full length along and parallel to the axis of the staff. When the staff is tilted at an angle from the vertical, the base edge of the banner is extended effectively in the horizontal direction, so that the base edge becomes more and more nearly horizontal as the angle of tilt away from the vertical is increased. It is evident to even the most ordinary observation, that a banner is most fully extended for display purposes when the base edge is extended to its full length in the fully horizontal position. However, it is also evident that the "draping" effect that causes fabric to "roll" and creates the appearance of "fullness" when the base edge of a banner is extended at an angle between vertical and horizontal, adds substantially to the pleasing effect of the display and heightens the overall aesthetic appearance. It is highly desirable that any device intended to prevent a banner from becoming furled around a supporting staff, should also allow the banner to hang in a natural draped arrangement when it is at rest. Further, any such device should, preferably, allow the banner to "wave" as naturally as possible in reaction to ordinary wind forces.
In the prior art, various devices have been proposed for the prevention of wind-induced "furling" of banners around supporting staffs. These prior art devices have generally taken the form of rigid elongate bracing rods, positioned to extend along either the top or bottom edge of a banner generally at a right angle to the flag pole or staff. Displaying a banner in this way results in the upper or lower edge of the banner being held in an unnatural and unattractive position relative to the staff, preventing the pleasing effect achieved by natural "draping" when the banner is at rest. In others, the rod is merely attached fixedly along all, or a portion of, the upper or lower edge, without regard to fixing the relation of the rod to the staff and/or to the base edge of the banner; these devices are known to be subject to many of the same problems of wrapping, i.e. furling, or "fouling" the banner about the staff that affect banners mounted with no anti-fouling aids at all, and they are regarded as being minimally effective for their intended purpose. It can also be seen that a rigid support attached along an edge of the banner prevents that edge in particular from waving or rippling in any manner and further detracts from the desired pleasing aesthetic appearance of the display.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an anti-furling support and display assembly for banners that permits the banner to drape in a natural and aesthetically pleasing manner when it is hanging at rest, supported on a staff positioned at an angle between horizontal and vertical.
It is another object of this invention to provide an anti-furling display support assembly that is readily and conveniently adjustable to accommodate a wide range of banner sizes and staff mounting angles.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an anti-furling display support assembly that can be attached to an associated banner conveniently and inconspicuously at a desirable and proper location without altering or damaging the fabric of the banner.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a display assembly of the type described, which permits a banner to extend from the "at rest" position to a wind-induced "waving" position, while causing minimum interference with the natural flow of the fabric.
And, yet another and further object of this invention is to provide a device of the type described which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which can be installed easily without special knowledge or equipment.
These and other and further objects, features and advantages of this invention will be made more apparent by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which: